By Peter Hartlaub | Updated Aug. 22, 2025 5:03 p.m. - San Francisco Chronicle
To appreciate the best details of artist Ruth Asawa’s “San Francisco Fountain,” you have to be a little bit of a voyeur.
That’s what I’m thinking as I shine my phone light, a camera flash and finally the long flexible neck of a Bic barbecue lighter inside the credit card-sized bay window of a Victorian home that’s part of the bronze Union Square sculpture. I’m trying to get a better look at a secret diorama hiding inside.
Asawa would have loved this scene. It was her idea to create a fountain in 1973 with so much detail, so many artists and so many cheeky detours. Even 52 years later, every visit guarantees a new surprise.
“I’m discovering new things all the time,” says Paul Lanier (pictured above), Asawa’s youngest son, who was 12 when the fountain was built in 41 pieces in the family’s Noe Valley back yard.
The SFMOMA’s acclaimed “Ruth Asawa: Retrospective” exhibition ends on Sept. 2. (Next stop, the Museum of Modern Art in New York.) But Asawa has public art throughout the city; there’s a free tour on her artist web site.
And her Union Square fountain is a great place to begin.
Ruth Asawa’s Union Square fountain is an S.F. treasure hunt. Here are its secrets
Greg
Quick and Dirty
To appreciate the best details of artist Ruth Asawa’s “San Francisco Fountain,” you have to be a little bit of a voyeur.
That’s what I’m thinking as I shine my phone light, a camera flash and finally the long flexible neck of a Bic barbecue lighter inside the credit card-sized bay window of a Victorian home that’s part of the bronze Union Square sculpture. I’m trying to get a better look at a secret diorama hiding inside.
Asawa would have loved this scene. It was her idea to create a fountain in 1973 with so much detail, so many artists and so many cheeky detours. Even 52 years later, every visit guarantees a new surprise.
“I’m discovering new things all the time,” says Paul Lanier (pictured above), Asawa’s youngest son, who was 12 when the fountain was built in 41 pieces in the family’s Noe Valley back yard.
The SFMOMA’s acclaimed “Ruth Asawa: Retrospective” exhibition ends on Sept. 2. (Next stop, the Museum of Modern Art in New York.) But Asawa has public art throughout the city; there’s a free tour on her artist web site.
And her Union Square fountain is a great place to begin.
The “San Francisco Fountain,” unveiled on Valentine’s Day in 1973, is Asawa’s most immersive and celebratory piece, a five-ton bubbling cauldron that features the city’s people, landmarks and hidden treasures created with baker’s dough and forged in bronze at the San Francisco Art Foundry.
The background shows: Artist Ruth Asawa is pictured to the right of her "San Francisco Fountain."
“When friends came over in the evening and it wasn’t too late,” Asawa told the Chronicle in 1973, “they might make a little something for the fountain. If they couldn’t manage a horse or an automobile they’d make a cloud or a star.”
Asawa couldn’t pinpoint an exact number of collaborators, but she estimated more than 250 people had sculpted something. The youngest, Bianca Dixon, was 3. The oldest, photographer Imogen Cunningham, was 90.
The background shows: Artist Ruth Asawa arranges figures sculpted in baker's clay for her "San Francisco Fountain."
From a distance on its stairway behind the Apple Store, the bulbous work looks like it’s covered in barnacles. Get closer and the layers of detail come into relief.
Lanier, a San Francisco artist who contributed his own figures to the fountain, gave us a tour on a recent sunny Thursday. Here are some highlights.
The background shows: Paul Lanier, Ruth Asawa's son, is seen from the back gesturing at her "San Francisco Fountain."
Market Street
Not sure where to start? Look for Market Street, which runs diagonally across the front of the fountain. It serves as a place to get your bearings, like the Big Dipper when staring at the night sky. Asawa gave the fountain a loosely followed geography.
Note how Market Street ends with the Ferry Building and runs alongside the U.S. Mint. Use that for orientation to find other locations: the Financial District, Chinatown and North Beach cluster to the right of Market; Ocean Beach landmarks, including surfers and the San Francisco Zoo, are on the opposite side.
The background shows: A detail photo shows the depiction of Market Street full of cars running diagonally across "San Francisco Fountain."
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Playland at the Beach
The fountain is a San Francisco time machine, telling the story not just of a city but its moment in history. Much of the sculpture was conceived and the dough shaped in 1970 and 1971, before BART, the Transamerica Pyramid and Sutro Tower were completed.
That was also before the Sept. 4, 1972, closure of Playland at the Beach, which is on the Ocean Beach side of the artwork. Look for the seaside amusement park’s epic wooden roller coaster, Fun House and an It’s-It stand. (The ice cream treats originated at Playland.)
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows Playland at the Beach, including a roller coaster, fun house and It's-It stand.
Garlic press hair everywhere
The fountain was built at Asawa’s home, and evidence from her kitchen is everywhere. The sculpting medium was baker’s dough — just flour, salt and water — and household objects made frequent appearances. The unexpected most valuable tool for the “San Francisco Fountain”: the garlic press, which was used to make running water, bushes and so much hair.
You’ll see that hair on the many people scattered around the fountain and at least a half-dozen mermaids, which, along with owls and octopi, often fill the spaces between larger features. “Certain things are fun to make out of play-dough, right?” Lanier said.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows various people with fine-stranded hair created using a garlic press.
Nude sunbathers
Asawa meant the fountain to be an accessible symbol of joy for the city, but her playful and subversive side comes out in spots, including the two nude sunbathers at the top of the fountain, lying happily in the sculpture’s Golden Gate Park.
Lanier points out that the couple’s naked parts are extra shiny, from decades of people touching the bronze figures.
“(The fountain) is tedious work,” Lanier said. “They had to find their joy. And she had a sense of humor. She wasn’t a particularly funny person, but she did some funny things.”
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows two nude figures sunbathing in a park scene.
Alvarado Elementary School
Alvarado Elementary School is and was a small public school in Noe Valley – just 550 students – but it takes up more real estate on the fountain than the Palace of Fine Arts, City Hall and the entire downtown skyline.
Asawa co-founded an arts program at Alvarado and recruited its students to work on the fountain, including a scene of children in front of the school, happily playing like the bell just rang for recess.
“The students made themselves,” Lanier says. “They’re self-portraits.”
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows Alvarado Elementary School with many children playing outside.
The real wedding
Aiko, Ruth’s oldest daughter, married Larry Cuneo during the two-plus years when the fountain was being crafted.
Between the school and Market Street, you can find a representation of their wedding, including the bride and groom, their “Just Married” car driving away with cans trailing behind and a towering wedding cake — with small figures of Aiko and Larry as a cake-topper.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows a multi-tiered wedding cake with a cake topper that depicts the real wedding of Asawa's daughter Aiko to Larry Cuneo.
JB Pritzker’s dad
The fountain was commissioned by Donald Pritzker, owner of the Grand Hyatt San Francisco near Union Square (hence the oversized “HH” for Hyatt Hotel on the front), and father of Illinois governor JB Pritzker. Donald Pritzker was worried the fountain would look like a giant cookie.
“That’s what I want it to look like,” Asawa said, according to “Ruth Asawa: A Working Life” by Jacqueline Hoefer.
The artist clearly was amused by the larger-than-life businessman. Pritzker appears on the fountain just above the arch of the first “H,” looking a little portly, taking an important phone call.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows Donald Pritzker, owner of the Grand Hyatt San Francisco who commissioned the sculpture, on a phone call.
Lombard Street
Along with City Hall and the Palace of Fine Arts, Lombard Street is one of the most technically impressive landmarks on the fountain, with a magical road alongside homes and landscaping that uses a depth of field technique so it appears as if you’re standing at the bottom.
But even the most detailed artworks were completed with simple techniques.
“You roll out a flat piece of play-dough and texture by pressing in with a stick or ruler to make the different bricks,” Lanier said. “Again, I think all these flowers are (from) a garlic press.”
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows the curving depiction of Lombard Street with bricks, bending cars and a stop sign.
Bending cars
There are dream-like touches to the fountain, including automobiles and cable cars that seem to bend like the clocks in a Dalí painting. The decision was for art and function. The fountain was built with 41 panels welded together, and the surreal cars were often used to cover seams.
“My mother was very interested in material,” Lanier said. “She used wire, she used different kinds of paper. And you can bend a car because it’s play-dough, not metal.”
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows bending cars.
So much Snoopy
Larry Woodbridge, Paul Lanier’s friend and the young son of architectural historian Sally Woodbridge, had a thing for Snoopy. Look for at least five representations of Charles Schulz’ cartoon dog on the fountain — an example of how one person, and their snapshot-in-time interest, influenced this enduring work of public art.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows a small Snoopy figure, one of handful scattered around the densely detailed art work.
Seventh inning stretch
Lanier points out two of his contributions: A dragon-like hydra on the top rim of the fountain that resembles a Ray Harryhausen creature, and near the front bottom of the fountain, former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal, leg kick high like his statue outside Oracle Park. Look closer and there’s an entire Candlestick Park scene, with Willie Mays sliding into home, two umpires and a small crowd with a hot dog vendor.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows a baseball scene with pitcher Juan Marichal with his high leg kick and Willie Mays sliding into home.
The “sleeping” couple
The best Easter egg is on the front left of the fountain, where there are two bay windows — both facing the Nike Store across the street — that have a secret inside: Shine a light through the windows and you can see a hidden diorama. The downstairs features a fireplace and furniture with a “W” on it. Upstairs there’s a naked couple in a bed … doing something?
Aiko Cuneo in an audio tour of the fountain says her mother would explain the scene with tongue in cheek: “They’re doing the things people do inside their bedroom … they’re sleeping.”
Chronicle photographer Carlos Avila Gonzales and I fished leaves, bark and a small sock out of the interior (followed by application of all the hand sanitizer), and Gonzales captured the scene with his larger lens and my iPhone flashlight.
The background shows: A detail photo of Ruth Asawa's "San Francisco Fountain" shows the facade of two homes with cut out windows. The windows on the right contain a hidden diorama that can be seen with a flashlight.
The fountain was dedicated on Feb. 14, 1973. “It was my mother’s love letter to San Francisco.” Lanier said.
Lanier said his mother cared about community, volunteered in public schools and liked to help other artists. And she truly loved the city.
“There’s been a lot of bad publicity about San Francisco,” Lanier said. “On a day like today you realize how beautiful San Francisco is. This is just nice to go back to that time in the 1960s and 1970s, and to see that a lot of these landmarks of San Francisco are still here.”
Asawa told the Chronicle in 1973 she saw the fountain and the creation of all art as a way to bring families, children and neighbors together.
“The artist alone in the studio is a dead duck,” Asawa said.